The diet of people who care about their health includes vegetables that have beneficial properties. Therefore, many gardeners are interested in complete information about growing daikon, its planting, planting dates and caring for the root crop that came to us from Japan.
Planting in open ground
Daikon is not difficult to grow if you know the characteristics of this crop.Most often, many gardeners fail due to mistakes with the timing of planting and the choice of place for growing root crops. Having understood the intricacies of caring and planting Japanese radish, you can grow large specimens weighing from 0.5 to 3 kg.
The characteristics of the root crop (weight, length, diameter, shape) depend on the variety, care and weather conditions. Radish of various varieties can grow in length from 10 to 60 cm, having a diameter of 4-8 cm. The shape directly depends on the variety. In open ground, daikon is planted according to the following schemes:
- 30 x 50 cm medium size varieties;
- 40 x 50 cm large-fruited varieties.
The seeds are buried 2 cm. Before germination, the soil is moistened using a watering can with a fine diffuser.
Selecting a location
Choosing a place for a garden bed is a crucial moment that determines the quality and quantity of the harvest. Planting daikon in the shade (partial shade) is a gross mistake, the result of which will be a large number of tops and small fruits, the shape and size of which will not correspond to the description printed on the bag of seeds.
Characteristics of a site suitable for growing large Japanese radish:
- complete absence of shadow during the entire daylight hours;
- for 2 years, crops not belonging to the Cruciferous family were grown at this place;
- suitable soil (light loam).
Soil preparation
Autumn is a good time to prepare the soil for spring planting. If the sowing of daikon is planned to be carried out in the summer, then the soil is prepared in the summer after harvesting the predecessor crop. Soil structure is important for daikon; it grows better in loose soil.
Considering the possible length of the root crop (60 cm), the soil must be dug deep. If you follow the advice of experienced vegetable growers, the garden should be prepared using the following technology:
- remove a layer of soil to the depth of a bayonet shovel and set it aside;
- Dig up the area prepared in this way, adding humus to it;
- return the previously removed land to its original place;
- add humus at the rate of 3-4 kg/m²;
- apply mineral fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium sulfate).
It is necessary to check the pH level of the soil. Daikon, as a member of the Cruciferous family, prefers neutral or slightly alkaline soils. Lime is added to acidic soil once every 5 years. This season, ash helps normalize the pH level; the application rate is 2 tbsp/m². Wood ash not only deoxidizes the soil, it serves as a supplier of micro- and macroelements useful for daikon.
Selection of planting material
When choosing seeds for planting, you should always read the description of the variety, how to plant it, at what time, and analyze whether it is suitable for growing in this climate. Early and mid-ripening varieties of daikon ripen in the middle zone. When planting late varieties of radish, small root crops grow. By using different planting methods, you can successfully grow daikon in different regions.
The mechanical composition of the soil affects the quality of the grown crop. It is also necessary to evaluate the thickness of the fertile layer. Root crops of any shape grow well on loose soils. Suitable for clay soil and any heavy soil with a thin fertile layer daikon varieties round or oval shape.
Growing seedlings from seeds
For spring planting, radish seedlings are obtained from seeds at home. To sow daikon seeds, use:
- peat pots up to 0.5 l;
- peat tablets;
- plastic containers with a depth of at least 10 cm.
The soil (neutral, slightly alkaline) can be used both from the garden and purchased for vegetable seedlings. Seed placement depth is 2 cm.Several seeds are sown in pots at a time; after the first shoots appear, the weak ones are removed. In the phase of 4 true leaves, seedlings are planted in the ground.
Landing dates
If the planting time is not observed, the daikon bolts and does not form a full-fledged root crop. For normal development, this plant requires no more than 12 hours of daylight and a temperature within 20 °C. In the heat and with long daylight hours, the root crop stops developing, the plant shoots out an arrow and blooms.
To get a good harvest, you need to understand exactly when to plant daikon seeds, when to seedlings, and when to refrain from planting.
Using different planting methods (seeds, seedlings), vegetable growers plant daikon varieties with different ripening periods in different periods (spring, summer, autumn). For the middle zone and Siberian regions, the right time for planting is in July (from 1 to 15) or in the last days of June; in the south it is the first days of August.
You can plant daikon before winter and at the very beginning of spring. Daikon seeds do not freeze; they germinate if the soil warms up to 3 °C. In spring you need to sow very early, as soon as the snow melts, and only early ripening varieties. At the end of April, you should not waste time sowing daikon; the root crops will not have time to form before the onset of hot weather.
When to plant before winter
Gardeners have mastered the technology of sowing seeds before winter to obtain an early harvest of daikon in the spring without seedlings. Planting should be done after stable low temperatures have been established. In the fall, the seeds should not germinate.
The bed is being prepared while the weather is warm. Humus or soil for adding to the furrows is poured into any container and stored in a room with above-zero temperatures. Planting furrows are marked on the dug and formed ridge.
When sowing in autumn, the seed consumption is double; the seeds are sown more densely. The furrows are filled with prepared soil mixture. The entire surface of the bed is mulched with a thick layer of peat or humus. In winter, they throw snow on it if there is not enough of it.
The mulch is removed with the onset of warm days, after the ground is completely free of snow. To speed up seed germination, the bed is covered with a transparent film. As soon as the shoots appear, they lift it onto arches.
Care
Daikon is an unpretentious plant, but you need to know certain care features. List of main activities:
- watering;
- weeding;
- loosening;
- feeding;
- disease control and prevention.
Watering schedule
Daikon is a moisture-loving plant. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the watering schedule in order to grow large root vegetables with tender pulp. There is no need to overwater the radish; it is enough to maintain constant soil moisture. The standard watering schedule for cool weather is once every 5 days. In hot weather it is necessary to water more often.
To save water and preserve moisture in the soil, gardeners mulch daikon beds with any available materials (dry grass, chopped bark, straw). Under a layer of mulch, the soil retains moisture longer and does not become crusty. If there is no mulch, the row spacing must be loosened after each watering.
Weeding
During the planting season, radishes are weeded 2-3 times. Weeding needs to be deep. In addition to removing weeds, they loosen the soil. With a good supply of oxygen to the root crop, it grows to large sizes. The seedlings are thinned out several times, removing weak shoots and leaving the required distance of 30-40 cm between the seedlings. The interval depends on the variety; large-fruited species need a large area for development.
Feeding and fertilizer
On fertile soil, well fertilized with organic matter and mineral fertilizers, large fruits can be grown without additional fertilizing. If the soil is poor, then ash is used for fertilizing, adding a small amount of mineral fertilizers to it. The first time ash is added to the soil is when the radish has 3 leaves. If the formation of root crops is slow, the procedure is repeated after 3 weeks.
Diseases and pests
If the rules of agricultural technology are violated, the crop is affected by diseases. Constant waterlogging of the soil provokes a viral disease - bacteriosis. It comes in two types: vascular and mucous.
Pre-sowing seed treatment is the prevention of all cruciferous diseases. Experienced farmers advise using the biological product Planriz. It can be used for disinfection of seeds and subsequent treatment of plants against diseases.
Harvest and storage
Harvesting a good harvest of large root vegetables is a pleasure. Fruits grown on light soils can be pulled out by the tops. To harvest root crops growing in dense, heavy soil, you will need a fork to dig into the ground.
Cleaning is done when dry weather sets in. Root crops with mechanical damage, eaten by pests, or with signs of rot are rejected, and high-quality fruits are sent for storage, after drying and cutting off the tops.
Daikon radish varieties
A description of daikon, several of its popular varieties, and varieties for the middle zone will help you make your choice. There is no point in delaying it, because the time for planting Japanese radish is approaching.
When choosing a variety, take into account the ripening period, how long can it be stored? For winter consumption, you need to select varieties that can be stored for up to six months.Early ripening varieties of daikon are suitable for fresh consumption in the summer-autumn season.
Sasha is an interesting, early-ripening daikon variety. The growing season is short - from 35 to 45 days. It is a round root vegetable with white skin and pulp. The weight of the fruit does not exceed 400 g. Depending on the growing conditions, the weight can vary from 200 to 400 g. The diameter of the radish is about 10 cm; during growth, most of the fruit is above the soil surface.
For lovers of cylindrical fruits, we can recommend the Elephant Tusk variety. This daikon is mid-season. It takes a little more than 80 days to form a root crop weighing 500-600 g. The length of the vegetable reaches 18-25 cm, with a diameter of about 8 cm. This variety is good because it tolerates drought and guarantees a stable harvest.
Growing daikon is not a tedious task. Root vegetables grown with your own hands will add variety to your diet and provide health benefits.
